‘Ensure that you are always working for the customer’- Atul Kirloskar

Pune, April 20, 2019: ‘‘When you start doing a job, you get used to it and tend to forget that all businesses are there for the customer. This fact is slowly forgotten and we start thinking of what we are doing instead of what we are offering. Therefore, it is always important to sense the desires of the customer.’’, said renowned entrepreneur Atul Kirloskar. He was speaking to the students at the convocation ceremony of Kirloskar Institute of Advanced Management Studies (KIAMS) today in Pune.

The convocation of the class of 2019 of KIAMS was held in the presence of Atul Kirloskar, President, Governing Council, KIAMS along with the Chief Guests R. R. Deshpande, MD and CEO, Kirloskar Oil Engines Ltd and Dr. Vikas Joshi, Founder and CEO, Harbinger Group. Amarshekhar Bhonagiri, Vice President, KIAMS, Dr. V. S. Pai, Director, KIAMS (Harihar), Dr. Amit Sinha, Director, KIAMS (Pune) were present among the dignitaries.

In the ceremony held on the Pune campus of the institute, 178 graduating students in KIAMS’s Pune and Harihar campus (Karnataka) received PG Diploma certificates at the hands of R. R. Deshpande and Dr. Vikas Joshi.

From the class of 2019, Neha Agarwal from Pune campus and Ananth Hegde from Harihar campus won the overall gold medal. While the overall silver medal is awarded to Manpreet Manoj (Pune) and Vipul Lahoti (Harihar). Along with the gold and silver medal winners, Soumen Saha, Utsha Ray, Shreya Shrivastava, Aakansha Agnihotri and Satya Prakash were awarded for being toppers of different specializations. A special Distinguished Alumni Award was given to Hitendra Ramachandran, and Shrishail Deshnur.

While talking to the students, Kirloskar also stressed that the real education starts after getting into the business. He said, ‘‘When the students join the corporate world after education, they still must have passion for learning more and more. Listen to the suggestions of others before making any decision. There is always an advantage in the diversity of thinking as you may not be able to think everything.’’

R. R. Deshpande and Vikas Joshi shared some of their learning experiences with the students. Deshpande said that regardless of whether you are an employee or an entrepreneur, respecting people is the most important thing for success. One should not become self-satisfied or get into the comfort zone even if you achieve some goals. He also stressed that continuous improvement is the necessity of the day.

Dr. Joshi highlighted the importance of the power of networking capital, continuous learning through difficult situations, and understanding the difference of opinion in a team by narrating his real-life experiences.